


To Love A Darkness

by Dark1Ninja8



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Action, Aged-down Gabriel, Alternate Universe with no Chat Noir, Angst, Dark, Drama & Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Gabes being angsty, Sexy, Slow Burn, Smut, Some Fluff, They're the same age don't come @ me, Villain and superhero romance, aged-up Marinette, drunk marinette, multi-chapter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-20 03:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20668553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark1Ninja8/pseuds/Dark1Ninja8
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng struggles to support her growing career as a fashion designer in Paris, and balance her alternative life as a superheroine. When the world-renowned Gabriel Agreste offers for her to become his intern and stay at his estate, Marinette's life is quickly thrown into disarray. The woman finds herself untangling a mystery of the man's past and discovering parts of his soul that he has kept hidden for years. Despite his coldness, she finds herself falling in love with Gabriel Agreste, and all the darkness that comes with him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! 
> 
> Welcome to TLAD. I'm a bit new here, and this is my first time publishing a work on AO3. I've been in this fandom for a few years now and I love reading the fanfictions posted on this website, and it inspired me to try my hand at becoming a writer here. This series is one of my favorites; I've written quite a few Miraculous fanfics before this, so I'm not new to the fanfiction world. 
> 
> This series contains a lot of angst and slow-burn romance, which are two of my favorite things. If you like them too...well, you've come to the right place, my friend. 
> 
> I'm excited to see where this goes and if my steamy Gabrinette fic will actually receive any attention. I know this is a rather taboo ship in the fandom, but I absolutely love the interactions between Marinette and Gabriel. It's so much fun to write and explore. I hope you'll give it a try and let me know what you think, I always read my comments and I am always open to criticism! 
> 
> This chapter introduces our characters and sets the plot into motion, and the chapters following it will begin setting up the scene for the romance and action to begin. The chapters are on the shorter side, I wanted to post it in smaller chunks so it's easier to read. 
> 
> With all that being said, let's jump on in. Enjoy. ~

She opened her eyes. 

The city spun beneath her, pulsating with people, enveloped in a golden sunset. 

For a moment, she was one with the world, a bird chasing ever-fleeing winds, a wisp of sun-tainted cloud, a girl defying all laws of gravity and nature. The atmosphere was still, as if for but a little while the earth forgot its rotation. Ladybug was flying, a wild creature tamed by nothing except the red and black suit that adorned her frame. 

She breathed in and came falling down, movements practiced and effortless. She dropped to the ground in front of her home, the sound of her earrings beeping to the same rhythm of her heart. The storefront rose before her in quiet expectation. The “Étoiles de Minuit” was her pride and joy, an extension of her soul. The building had become hers only a little while ago, but business was already booming. She had more orders than she could fill, and running the whole place by herself was sometimes as impossible as leaping off a skyscraper and landing on her toes. Yet she still did it, by some incomprehensible willpower or perhaps sheer luck. 

Her transformation faded as the doors closed behind her, causing the dark apparel store to flash with sudden light. Marinette stood there for a while, breathing, thinking. The smells of fresh, uncut fabrics intoxicated her senses, daring her to collect them into her fingers and create. She wanted to. But her feet were locked, her body frozen in time like the stillness around her. Marinette let out a shuddering breath. 

_ She was alone. _

There wasn’t anything wrong about that, yet the sudden realization caught her up and held her there. 

_ She was alone. _

Her parents weren’t here to cook her dinner or brush their hands through her tangled hair and tell her everything would be alright. Her friends were gone, living their own lives, moving with the fast-paced city that never slept. Marinette was alone, and it terrified her. 

Here, inside this little designer shop, she worked night and day in shadowed corners as the sun rose and descended, trying to figure out adulthood as best she could. And when duty called, she was suddenly out in the bright, dauntless air, weapon in hand as she stared down the face of Hawkmoth’s newest victim. Even as Ladybug stood before her enemy, she was alone. It had always been that way. She didn’t need anyone else, yet here she was, holding back a torrent of tears, wishing there was someone...anyone...who could stand beside her. 

A soft noise set Marinette free from her thoughts and she turned to her kwami beside her. 

“Marinette-”

“I’m fine, Tikki.” The girl uprooted herself and went toward her over-crowded desk, brushing aside some loose papers as she sat down and turned on a pink lamp that gave the shop a soft glow. Tikki hovered beside her, knowing perfectly well that she was indeed not fine, but deciding not to push it. Marinette tapped her lips with the end of her favorite pen, her other hand entangled within her wind-whipped hair as she bent over her newest designs. She had ten new orders to fill by next Saturday, and seven of those were all button-up vests which were her least favorite thing ever. She sighed and began to abuse the pen with her teeth. She had thought about hiring on someone to help out, but she selfishly worried that they wouldn’t understand her way of doing things. She had gotten into a slightly unorganized yet successful routine, and was afraid of shattering that by change. 

The little golden ray of sunlight that crept through the window by her right began to wane, until it was replaced by a single shaft of pale silver. The moon danced over her twilit home, playing on the ends of her hair and tempting her of sleep. Finally, Marinette pushed away from the desk and stretched out her limbs, wincing as her shoulder gave a loud pop. The akumas has been merciless lately, and racing into the heat of battle at any given moment was beginning to take its toll on her body. Just when Marinette thought she had everything running smoothly at her shop, some monstrous creature was created and everything was thrown into chaos. It was as if Hawkmoth knew who she was and loved torturing her just for the fun of it. 

Marinette’s phone buzzed to life, and she peeked at it through the corner of her eye. The name that appeared sent a jolt of pain bursting inside her chest. She glimpsed a part of the text before her phone darkened. 

“Marinette, I’m sorry-” 

She looked away. He wasn’t sorry, and neither was she. The chair beneath her ground on the wood floor as she stood up, trying not to wake her sleeping kwami as she did so. She needed sleep, and she needed to forget. 

⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅

“I’m sorry, sir, but we’re out of stock until next- no, denim is not in style I’m afraid. Of course, she’ll...you don’t want lace? But I thought I’m-”

The pile of plaid fabrics in Marinette's arms was suddenly on the floor, and the girl suppressed a grunt of rage. She scrambled to her knees to collect the fallen mess, her phone tucked between her neck and ear as some idiotic husband raved about his wife’s anniversary. She piled the fabric onto a nearby shelf, not caring that half of it only slipped to the ground again. She hadn’t gotten nearly as much sleep as she had wanted last night. 

“Are you sure you want that? It’s our most expensive item,” she said with as much control in her voice as she could muster. The man couldn’t decide what he wanted to buy, and probably didn’t even know the difference between cotton and chiffon. Tikki caught the pair of scissors that hurled dangerously through the air, a concerned look on her small face as she watched the woman rush around the building. 

“Yes, I can get you that by Friday,” Marinette sighed. “Thank you. Goodbye.” She didn’t even aim for a chair. She just sank onto the nearest pile of boxes and put her face in her hands, letting out the groan of frustration she had been holding in. Her hair lay limp on her shoulders where it had stayed since that morning, and dark circles ran heavily beneath her eyes. Tikki nuzzled up against her holder’s cheek affectionately, not saying anything but instead allowing the silence to speak for itself. Marinette wiped away a stray tear and straightened, trying desperately to compose herself. This was not how she had intended this day to go. She had even written out a complicated schedule in messy handwriting and taped it to her wall above her desk, hoping to make sense of the clutter that was her life. The paper had quickly become a crumpled ball in the nearest trash can when she had woken up two hours off schedule and hadn’t gotten a single thing done. 

A headache was already starting to come on. 

She needed coffee. Strong coffee. 

The door to her store opened with an obnoxious ding, notifying her of a customer. Marinette scowled. Now was really not the time. 

“We’re closed!” she shouted, not bothering to look up as she massaged a point between her nose and forehead. 

“That’s not what the sign says,” came a low, masculine voice. 

_ It’s another lost and completely oblivious husband. Heaven help me. _

“I’m on lunch break!” she returned. 

“It’s ten o'clock in the morning.” 

“I had an early breakfast?”

“I find that hard to believe.” Footsteps sounded on the floor as someone rounded the corner and stopped a few feet away. Marinette didn’t want to look. Whoever they were, she just wanted them to go and leave her alone. There was an extended silence as neither spoke, each lost in their own minds. After a pause, the man coughed to get her attention. 

“I told you, I’m-” 

“Closed, I know. But I’m not here to order anything.” 

Marinette finally looked up. 

_ Gray. _

She was swallowed up in sunless thunderstorms that rumbled inside her soul, that ignited her like lightning, that cooled her like rain. She drank them up as if they were liquid pools of silver. 

He blinked, and the gray storm clouds vanished. Marinette was stolen back by reality and thrown against fate at harsh swordpoint. The eyes were hidden behind rectangular glasses, framed by blonde hair that had been gelled down to absolute perfection. Eyebrows met together in a permanent frown on his brow, paralleled by a set of firmly-pressed together lips. 

She was staring at Gabriel Agreste. 

Only the most famous fashion designer in Paris and her idol and inspiration and probably a million other things that she couldn’t remember at the moment. 

_ Gabriel Agreste. _

He was standing right in front of her, in her store. She leaped to her feet with a jolt, sending the boxes she had been using as a seat scattering across the floor in every possible direction. She winced, caught halfway between deciding whether to pick them up or leave them be. She never got to decide, however. Gabriel pinned her beneath his gaze and suddenly her limbs disconnected from her brain and refused to move. The only part of her that seemed to be working was her heart, and it had become a wild animal inside her chest, banging down the doors to her ribcage. 

“Hello.” His voice was smooth, husky, edged with hints of poise and elegance. She crumbled beneath it. 

“Hi,” she squeaked. 

His gaze traveled over her, from her undressed toes to her polka-dotted shorts and oversized t-shirt, and across her frazzled bedhead and tear-stained face. Then it was speculating the room behind her, taking in her unorganized desk and floor littered with fragments of fabric and threads from her sewing machine. Marinette felt naked underneath those cold gray eyes. She felt as if she were a child awaiting punishment, anticipating some terrible oncoming wrath. She wanted to grab the nearest piece of clothing and wrap herself up in it, she wanted to run upstairs and lock her door in a thousand different ways. She wanted to make him proud, to impress him with her dedication. She wanted so many things that her mind had become a big soupy bowl of chaos that she hoped he wouldn’t taste. Finally, he finished his silent inspection and turned back to her, his face void of emotion. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, is it?” He extended a long arm towards her and it took every effort to force herself to reach out and give his hand a stiff shake. His skin felt cold underneath her, matching the frigidness of his gaze and of his face. “I’m Gabriel Agreste, though I’m sure you’ve heard of me.” She nodded. “I came here because I have a business inquiry for you.” 

At first, Marinette thought he had descended into a different language and was speaking nonsense. She had to repeat the words over in her brain a million times before they actually made sense. “Wait...me? But why?” Her voice cracked halfway through, ruining her chances at professionalism. It was probably too late for that anyway. 

“Well, I’m not sure if you have noticed, Miss Dupain-Cheng, but this little endeavor of yours has become quite popular over a short amount of time. Your designs are unique and strangely different, and you show a lot of promise. I had been considering this for a while now, and well...you were ideal.” He spoke slowly, forcing out each word with a type of precision that reminded Marinette of the way a needle slides through a piece of fabric- clean and effortless, if you know how to do it. “What I mean to say is this: I wish to make a deal with you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. If you were to become my intern and study beneath me, we could become business partners with shared interests in each of our companies. Combining both of our talents would be sure to bring in a hefty income. You would be given a place to stay at my estate where you could train, and still run your shop if you like. I would, of course, give you a payroll as long as you study as my intern. This is all very sudden, I realize, but now that I have finalized my decision I could not wait.” He gave her a heartless smile that did not blend with the coldness of his eyes. Marinette suddenly yearned to be sitting down again. Fate’s sword had just cleaved off her head and knighted her all at once, and she wasn’t sure what to think or if she was even thinking correctly. This all felt like a very unreal dream, and she was stuck deciphering between reality and figments of her imagination. She ran a trembling hand through her hair and took in a deep breath. 

“I-” 

“If this is too much I can-” 

“No, it’s okay! I just...wasn't expecting this, that’s all. I still can’t get over the fact that you're actually standing here.” 

Gabriel stared at her for a moment, and an awkward silence fell between them. Marinette itched a spot on her upper arm vigorously. 

“I don’t understand why you’d choose me,” she half-whispered, shooting a look around her small, cluttered store. “As you can see, I’m not the most professional person in the world.”

“You don’t need to be,” Gabriel replied. “That is was internships are for.” 

“Yes, but…” Marinette struggled to find the right words. “You could’ve picked anyone else. Why me?” 

The man drew in a deep breath and folded his hands behind his back, as if he had already become bored with their conversation. He studied her once more before taking a step closer and looking down at her past his sharp nose. “I could’ve, I suppose. Yet, I didn’t. I expected you to seem more excited about my offer, Miss-” 

“I am! But you can’t blame me for questioning your motives when you’re you and I’m...well, me. I never conceived anything like this would happen. It’s a dream come true, honestly.” She smiled softly, whilst keeping a death grip on her arm just so she wouldn’t keel over in an unconscious mess. Gabriel nodded. 

“It’s a deal, then.” 

Marinette’s eyes widened and her arms began to flail before she could stop them. “No! Wait! I mean- well, you see...I need to think about this first. It’s a very big decision, Mr. Agreste.” 

“I see.” He was frowning, his gaze growing icier than it had been before. “You can let me know your answer by the end of the week. I await your response.” He turned away from her and began to move toward the door. “Good day, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” 

Marinette stood stunned. It wasn’t until his fingers brushed the doorknob that her mind snapped back into place. “Thank you!” she blurted. Dark thunderstorms returned to her face, masked by impassable clouds and dangerous electricity. He made no expression or no reply, and simply opened the door and was gone. Marinette’s limbs finally gave way and she crumpled to the floor, trembling, the memory of his eyes frozen into her brain.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's world begins to slowly fall apart, and she is left with a choice of giving her life and career into the hands of Gabriel Agreste, or risking losing everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loved writing this chapter, it was a lot of fun! (And by fun I mean angsty and emotional, which is right up my alley.) This chapter is a bit more on the sad side, but things will get a bit lighter in the continuing chapters for any of you fluff lovers. As always, I am open to any criticism so don't be afraid to leave some in the comments! Enjoy <3

Heat billowed in waves around her, tightening the air with its vicious hunger. The ends of her raven hair were edged with orange, glistening as she whirled in the direction of her newest enemy. 

Ladybug could barely breathe. 

Ash clung to the tips of her eyelashes like snow, smoke gathered in her lungs like poison. 

The akuma stared down at her with eyes that flamed, and for a moment, he stopped. The city was silent. Citizens had evacuated the streets after the news had reported an akuma attack, and by now they knew how to disappear to let Ladybug handle things. The sky was dark and clouded, tempting of rain but never letting it fall. The only noise that stirred was the crackling of flames in her ears and the heavy exhales that she released. The akuma stepped toward her, and Ladybug froze. 

Once again, she remembered that she was alone. Her suit felt sticky against her skin, and despite the fire that danced around her, she shivered. How many times would she face down a villain? How many times would she face them alone? 

The akuma charged suddenly, eyes ignited like two miniature suns. His jetpack roared to life, bursting him into the air above her. Hawkmoth had decided to akumatize a fireman today, and unlike the many other akumas she had defeated before, this one was unusually dangerous. His hose that he carried in his right hand (which Ladybug was pretty sure where the akuma was,) shot blazing hot fire out of it, consuming everything in its path. Ladybug had noticed the akumas becoming progressively harder to overcome, but she had never expected something like this. Hawkmoth was out of his mind. 

“I am Firestorm!” the villain declared, aiming his hose in her direction with every intention to burn her to a crisp. “Paris shall crumble beneath my-” 

“Your wrath, blah blah blah,” Ladybug interrupted with a roll of her eyes. She shook herself free from her thoughts and crouched into a fighting position. “Let’s cut the excessive monologue and get to the chase.” A grin formed on her lips as adrenaline began to interlace itself into her bloodstream. The villain ignored her comment and let loose on his hose, which shot a burst of flames toward her. Ladybug dove out of its way, just narrowly missing its line of destruction. She backflipped behind him and struck out with her yo-yo, which glazed off of his shiny fireproof armor with no effect. She scowled and spit a piece of her hair out of her mouth. How was she supposed to get out of this one? She had an important phone call scheduled at six-thirty, and she still hadn't finished all of those vest orders. And, of course, there was still Gabriel Agreste's offer to consider. 

Ladybug sighed. 

She didn’t want to think about that right now. 

Firestorm’s jetpack cut out, and he landed on the pavement with a heavy thump. Ladybug saw her chance and took this moment to call on her lucky charm. She waited as the light subsided and watched as a roll of tin foil fell into her outstretched hands. Tinfoil. What the hell was she supposed to do with this? Firestorm recovered and whirled toward her, fingers already clenching around his weapon. Ladybug thought fast. Tinfoil reflects heat, right? She smiled as a plan began to form. She tucked the tin foil underneath her arm and swung onto the nearest building, giving herself a little time before Firestorm got his jetpack working again. She ripped out a large piece of foil and began wrapping it around the end of her yo-yo. Her hands trembled. What was she so afraid of? How was this villain any different from the hundreds before? 

She was afraid. Somehow admitting that made it more real, and she swallowed a clump of rising dread. There was a heaviness inside her chest that didn’t seem to want to go away, no matter how hard she tried to be brave. 

Firestorm’s jetpack sputtered to life, and he blazed into the air beside her. But she was ready. Ladybug struck out with her newly-weaponized yo-yo. It tangled itself around the end of his hose, and she began to reel him in. The end of the yo-yo tightened. Firestorm grunted in rage and decided to turn up the heat. His hose began to ooze red flames, and Ladybug kept her grip. The embers floated toward her on the wind, singing the end of her hair and pin pricking her suit like needles. Still, she held on. The yo-yo fell into place directly in front of the opening on his hose, and the tinfoil did its job. It reflected the heat back on the weapon, and slowly it began to cave in on itself. The hose evaporated under its very own flames. Ladybug pulled Firestorm to the edge of the building where he collapsed. A dainty purple butterfly drifted up from the wreckage, a thing of beauty twisted by vile hands, unaware of the damage it had just wrought upon Paris. Ladybug caught it inside her yo-yo and released it, too tired to shout her usual motto of victory. She watched as her magic erased all of the destruction, returning the city to balance. The fireman glanced around himself in confusion, but Ladybug didn’t care. 

She was done. 

She’d had enough fighting for one day, and she’d be perfectly happy if she never had to wear this suit again. 

**⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅**

The phone clattered from her hands and slipped to the floor.

_ Thud. _

It made a noise. She knew it had. But she couldn’t hear it. She could hear nothing over the beating in her ears and the ocean that was crashing in her mind. She felt as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to her bones and struck them until they crumbled. She was falling, collapsing, and there were no crutches to help her stand. 

Her knees cracked on the wood as she fell to the ground. Again, she knew there had been a noise. She knew she should feel pain. 

_ But she heard nothing, felt nothing. She was numb. _

The tears came before she could stop them. They climbed out from beneath her eyelids and drip, drip, dripped down her cheeks until she could no longer see. She had just gotten off the phone with the bank, and found out that she was a month behind in her debts. They would begin foreclosing her shop if she didn’t pay up, and soon. She didn’t know when she had gotten so behind. She just knew that she had, and that she didn’t have that kind of money. 

In a mere three minutes, everything she had ever loved was being torn away from her. Suddenly, she felt as though she were a child again, playing at games of fate without realizing just how deadly that could be. Life had let her sail for a little while, but now it was showing her what the storms were like. Marinette hugged her legs with her arms and hid her face away from the world. She wept, she cursed life for its wicked cruelty, she cursed herself for being so stupid. She should have learned from her mistakes, but here she was again, right back in that same fetal position as if she could climb back into her mother’s womb. She wished she could. Maybe then she could escape the torment that feasted on her when she was at her weakest points. 

She needed to get out. She needed to breathe, to remember that oxygen still existed even when her lungs felt like they might collapse on themselves. She needed to feel pain, to taste the salt of her tears on her tongue, to realize that she was still human and not a superhero. 

_ Because how could she be a superhero when she couldn’t even save herself?  _

She had gotten herself into this mess, and now fate laughed. As if she could master it! She was foolish, and never deserved to own her dreams. It had all been too good to be true anyway. She lifted her head from her lap and looked outside. Gray droplets of rain were streaming down her windows, as if her shop itself had realized her sorrow and was crying alongside her. Dark clouds were rolling in, and they called to her. In some incomprehensible language they spoke, daring her to step out into their midst and feel the rain upon her brow. 

Marinette listened. She stood on shaking legs and drifted toward the doorway, forgetting her shoes and leaving her coat hanging where it was. She opened the door and stepped out, the familiar ding of her store bell ringing lightly in her ears. Her feet led her out onto damp streets, littered with little puddles of fresh rain. She followed the road, not wondering where it took her and not caring where she would end up. She just walked, and felt the pin-pricks of water on her skin that had been flames not two hours ago. They dribbled down her forehead and into her eyes, they mingled with her tears, they bled through her clothes and froze her skin. 

She trembled. 

She could feel it. The cold, the needles of ice on her arms, the wind that took her breath away, only to turn and give it back. It resonated with something within her, something deep and hidden away behind her heart. Suddenly, it was okay to cry and she did not feel ashamed doing it. She let her sorrows flow freely, she let them go, and she smiled because after all, she was only a child in a great world. 

She turned a corner in the street and stopped, as if someone had tugged on her sleeve. She looked up, and her gaze pulled her by some unseen string towards a figure a few feet away. Her eyes met with the stranger and then she was gone. She was enveloped, scoured, drowning inside a pair of irises that were terrifying and exhilarating all at once. They were gray, mirroring the clouds that hung above them, yet colder somehow, as if they were preparing for a dangerous bolt of electricity. 

Marinette opened her mouth to speak, but the words failed on her lips. He stared at her and seemed to marvel, and it’s only then that she realized she was barefoot and soaked. Yet somehow-- she didn’t care. She didn’t care what he thought of her, because at that moment she was nothing and everything all at once. 

Gabriel Agreste stepped toward her, and she did not move away. 

“Hello,” he said softly. 

“Hi,” she replied. She noticed that the rain had collected on the rims of his glasses, but he did not bother to wipe them away. Their gazes met again, and this time his softened when he glimpsed the tear stains on her cheeks. 

“I gather that today was not the best of days?” 

Marinette chuckled despite herself. “The worst.” 

He inhaled slowly and looked down, and it was his turn to be at a loss for words. Marinette bit her lip and tugged at one of her water-drenched pigtails, listening to the still silence of a calm before a storm. Even now, the clouds were darkening, losing their color, collecting themselves together in anticipation. The man fiddled with the sleeve of his expensive white coat. 

“You look cold,” he murmured, his voice just loud enough to be heard over the rain. 

“I am,” she admitted, and her skin prickled at the thought. Without responding, Gabriel straightened and began to tug off his coat. Marinette watched in bewilderment as he turned toward her, holding the garment outstretched in his hand. She stared up into his face as if to ask him why, but she was met with two gray eyes that told her enough. She was frozen. Feet stuck to the pavement, fingers clenched at her sides, jaw unlocked and unable to close. She wanted to reach out and take the coat, but she didn’t trust her own limbs. 

But she didn’t have to. 

He moved, swift and gently, and suddenly he was wrapping the coat around her shoulders and his nose was inches from her rain-washed neck. Marinette stiffened under his touch, but the moment she felt his breath on her skin she shattered to pieces. Together they remained unmoving, as if time itself had stilled just to behold this moment. 

He looked at her and thunder rumbled in the distance. 

_ Thunder rumbled inside of her.  _

But then he stepped away, and she let go of the air she didn’t even know she had been holding in her lungs. The rain began to pour, and Marinette longed to be home again. 

“T-thank you,” she stuttered, surprised that her tongue still worked. He nodded, gaze downcast, and turned to go. “Wait!” 

He glanced back at her, expression so void of emotion that she could hardly tell where his coldness ended and his soul began. “Yes?” he asked. 

“I- I’ve decided to take you up on your offer. About the internship.” Her voice was strong, and when he saw her eyes he glimpsed the determination that filled them. He made no move to reply, but she saw that he swallowed, and a hint of a smile pulled at his lips. He gave her a final nod and then he was gone. 

Marinette watched him depart until she could see him no more. Thunder growled, closer now, and her eyelids squinted against the torrents of rain that were falling. She breathed in the fresh smell of the storm, and breathed out the parts of her heart that hurt the most. She didn’t know what she was doing, or where she would go from here. She didn’t know how she was going to manage being both a superheroine and an intern at the same time. She didn’t know what life had in store for her. 

But for right now, she was just a child in the middle of a great world, and there was nothing wrong with that. 


End file.
